—–

“Ming, huh? I remember her.”

Louis recalled her as an old lady, one of the Elders of the Ki Sword Sect whom he had effortlessly defeated.

Her strongest technique involved summoning numerous swords and fusing them into a giant dragon. The Sect Master possessed an even more powerful version.

It seemed Yang had looked up to her and copied her techniques.

Now, Louis gazed at her with open contempt.

They were moved to the backyard, where a small combat area awaited. Students gathered eagerly to watch as Louis—or rather, Yang—faced the most talented Ming Shieng.

Both held wooden swords and stared into each other’s eyes.

Ming suddenly sensed something off about Yang. Her resolve faltered slightly as she noticed his strange, unnerving eyes.

“…”

He stood perfectly calm, expressionless, and unnaturally still. It felt deeply unsettling.

From what she knew, Yang was a wild, provocative kid who loved fighting and stirring trouble. He was a hated son of a bitch, though a few still admired his boldness. Lazy and widely regarded as a terrible student, the old Yang seemed to have vanished completely.

“Begin.”

At Kai’s command, Ming struck first. She swung her wooden sword at Louis while unleashing a sharp gust of sword qi infused with her intent.

“She’s fast.”

His eyes gleamed briefly, but he avoided the strike effortlessly, shifting only his torso and head without moving his feet.

“…??!!”

Ming’s eyes widened in disbelief. The gust was so sharp it sliced the stone floor beneath them, yet it never touched him.

“He avoided it?!”

“So effortlessly?”

“What’s happening?”

“Who is he?”

“No way…”

“Yang did that? That bum?”

As commotion spread among the students, Louis decided to strike back.

His bare hand reached toward Ming, and she suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of killing intent so sharp it cut her face.

“Ah!”

She stepped back, only to see a giant white beast glaring at her from within Yang’s aura, its glowing golden eyes piercing straight into her soul.

“W-What is that intent?!”

As she gasped, Yang struck with his palm. A cutting motion with his bare hand sent a wave of silver qi flying toward her with immense force.

“Kuaaaaggh?!”

She groaned and vomited blood as the strike tore across her chest and hurled her across the backyard into the main building.

CRAAASH!

“A-Ah…”

“W-Wha…?”

“Ming… she…!”

“Eh? E-Eeeh?”

The students stood speechless, eyes wide with shock. They could not believe what they had just witnessed.

Ming Shieng had lost.

With a single strike from Yang.

“M-MING SHIENG!!!”

The entire school erupted in screams and rushed to check on her while Louis remained standing in silence, looking around as if nothing had happened.

“She has such a deep cut!”

“She’s not going to make it!”

“H-How did he cut her without a sword?!”

“What’s going on?!”

Everyone was confused and terrified of Yang. It was as if he had awakened one day possessed by a demon.

“Y-Yang…”

Elder Kai glared at Louis in disbelief.

“So, Master, do I pass?”

“…”

Yang felt fear.

He had never felt fear toward a child until now.

He wanted to kick him out for what he had done, but wasn’t he the one at fault? After all, he had forced them to fight.

“…Y-You pass. But… Ming… leave for today and return tomorrow. She is in critical condition!”

“…”

Louis walked over to her. She was bleeding heavily, convulsing with her mouth open and tears streaming from her eyes.

“…”

Remembering her as the powerful old elder he had once defeated, seeing her younger self made him realize he had taken this too seriously.

“Move aside.”

His presence alone caused everyone to cower and scatter. Louis knelt beside her and placed his hand above the wound.

Slowly, divine qi gathered in his palm and flowed into her injury, transforming into bright golden threads that stitched the wound closed and rapidly regenerated the damaged tissue.

He had combined Qi Manipulation with the Holy Dragon Spirit Soul Vein Technique and the Wood Element from his Five Elemental Spirit Body. Using Heaven Qi extracted through his Heaven and Earth Essence Gathering, it was easy to create a simple yet effective healing technique with pure qi.

Though to him, it was merely a minor technique for a minor wound.

In this world there was no mana, so he could only wield and adapt to the qi present in the environment.

“A-Ahh! Cough, cough…! Aahh… Haaa…”

Ming coughed up blood clots and slowly recovered, gasping for air as if her lungs had been fully restored. She looked around in confusion, her eyes narrowed.

“Y-Yang, you healed her?!” Kai asked in shock. “Since when did you learn Medicinal Arts? That technique felt like something the Divine Doctor would use! That was undoubtedly Surgery…!”

“Ah, I figured it out on my own,” Louis replied in a flat voice.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief, knowing full well he was lying.

Nevertheless, Ming recovered enough to be carried to her room in the school. As Kai’s protégée, she lived with him there.

Afterward, Yang was forced to apologize to her and then to everyone else for scaring them. Louis did it on autopilot, barely thinking.

Once that was done, Kai finally addressed his strength and abilities.

“I admit you are strong, Yang. I misjudged you. Perhaps you awakened a heaven-defying talent out of nowhere. Whatever the case, you have proven yourself worthy of my teachings once more.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, let’s go eat. We can discuss what you should practice for tomorrow.”

“…”

Louis was bored out of his mind, but he nodded anyway and joined Elder Kai for lunch. The students were served plates of white rice and curry. The curry contained no meat—it was too expensive—but it included radish, tomatoes, and a few carrots.

Despite this all being a “dream” or “hallucination,” it felt far too real. The flavors, the atmosphere, the bitter green tea, the warm soup—everything.

“…”

As he tasted the food and felt his stomach fill, Louis could not help but sigh in relief.

“Thank you for the food, Elder Kai.”

He genuinely thanked the elder, even though not long ago he had mercilessly killed him.

He felt deeply conflicted. What did this world and his experiences outside it mean? How did they connect?

Was this truly just a dream world born from that dying entity’s fake memories?

“…Yang,” Kai said, visibly moved. “This is the first time you have ever thanked me for the food I gave you.”

Louis looked at the old man, who smiled warmly at him. “Is that so…”

“Hah… well, whatever,” Elder Kai nodded. “Ahem. I see you have developed your Sword Intent! At what level is it now?”

“Initial Layer, but…” Louis could not recall if he had fully absorbed the knowledge, but he felt it was not completely comprehended yet. “Only halfway through…”

“Only halfway through the Initial Layer and you can already defeat Ming, who has nearly mastered the First Layer?!” Kai was shocked.

“I incorporate it with other… techniques…” Louis said, realizing he had spoken too much.

“Like which ones?” Elder Kai asked, surprised.

“Personal techniques without names,” Louis lied.

“Hmmm…” The elder nodded, rubbing his beard. “Well, what cultivation realm were you in last time?”

“No realm yet,” Louis shook his head.

So far, he had no idea what realm he was in. He had mostly been cultivating by supplementing his existing abilities, skills, stats, and Fantasy Heart.

However, now Louis wondered about something important.

Had he truly grasped the real meaning behind cultivation?

He knew almost nothing about it.

Cultivation was divided into many categories and schools.

There were the Mana Cultivators of Yggdrasil, who evolved their Mana Hearts to higher ranks starting from Rank 1 by refining their own mana, creating circuits, magic circles, runes, and consuming mana crystals.

Then there were the Spirit Masters of Spiritias, who cultivated their bond with their Natal Spirits born within their Spirit Orbs. As they grew, so did their spirits, and vice versa. They advanced from Rank 1 upward, with each rank allowing them to summon new spirits and evolve existing ones.

And finally, there were the Heaven and Earth Essence Cultivators of Zipangu, who specialized in a blend of martial arts, techniques, Heaven and Earth Essence, physical body strengthening, and mastery over weapons. They could eventually cut mountains and shake oceans. Most also possessed Martial Cores starting at Rank 1.

Although not conventional cultivation, the Spirals were somewhat similar yet vastly different.

But… was that all?

Louis, who possessed neither a Mana Heart, Spirit Orb, nor Martial Core, had been learning all sorts of techniques and methods and combining them freely.

He had created his own Fake Dragon Heart through these combinations and further solidified it as he grew stronger, forming a solid crystal core within his chest—his Crystallized Spiritual Dragon Mana Heart.

Even so, it was neither a Mana Heart, a Spirit Orb, nor a Martial Core.

Thus, Louis had always wondered:

Is there another path I am not aware of?

Beyond his game knowledge, was there something else he could grasp?

Perhaps not in these fantasy worlds connected to Earth.

But maybe… somewhere else. In a long-forgotten world.

“No realm yet, huh? But you seem fairly strong to me. You are at least at the peak of Qi Gathering!” Elder Kai sighed, shaking his head.

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep